Menu Plan Monday--on Tuesday, or Story of My Life

Yeah, yeah, it's Tuesday. So sue me! Just kidding...I can't remember what I was doing on Sunday afternoon. It might have had something to do with blowdrying a chicken, or cleaning up 3.5 gallons of dog barf underneath my office chair floor protector thingy. I am trying to blot out the entire evening really.

So here's my plan:

Monday: Ate at my MIL's. She roasted a giant chicken in the oven. We had salad, steamed baby carrots, (I added honey.) and baked potatoes. I haven't had a baked potato in about 6 months or more. (BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE AN OVEN.) I don't sound bitter, do I?

I did enter the Lowes Makeover $100,000 giveaway. The finalists will be announced on March 5--which isn't too far away. When I told Handyman, his first words were, "I wouldn't have to do the work." I am imagining what it would be like to go to Lowes with a gift card that has a $100,000 balance. I am sure I could apply some of that towards my favorite contractor...hmmmmm.

Oh! Back to: Menu Plan Monday

Tuesday: I will use some of the chicken meat sent home from MIL's, to make Chicken Taquitos (Whatever you do, don't skip the salt sprinkled on the taquitos before they're baked. Those bites were the very best!)


Wednesday: Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps, which I had posted last week and didn't use.

Thursday: Kung Pao chicken, which I added for last Sunday, but didn't use.

Friday: Spinach and Bacon Frittata and hash browns, which I made last week and enjoyed so much, we are having it again! Woot! Woot! The hens are laying.

Saturday: Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chili

Sunday: WHO KNOWS?!

Reviewing last week's recipes, I want to say that the Ravioli in Sage Cream Sauce was AWESOME! We all loved it. The pecans were the piece you shouldn't miss out on, although other nuts would probably do as well, if you have a preference. It was easy and quick and has already been added to our favorites folder!

Check out OrgJunkie today! She has a great post with linky for her favorite organizing links! It looks chock full of stuff we can all use. And, could I ask y'all to leave a comment? It is fun to write a blog, and more fun to see 50 views for the week; but a real bummer to get absolutely no comments...if you can't think of anything, just say hi! TYVM!

Menu Plan Monday

Okay, this is about my fifth week putting together a menu on Sunday afternoon. And it helps tremendously with my sanity, because I DONT HAVE A KITCHEN right now. Therefore, my meals need to involve NO ovens and very little stovetop, since I use one burner on my driveway.

So here it is:

Monday: Crock pot chicken with biscuits

Tuesday: Crock pot pizza

Wednesday is Awana--so grilled cheese and tomato soup

Thursday: Bacon Ranch Chicken over noodles

Friday: Jambalaya

Saturday: Pasta Fagioli soup

Sunday: Quiche, which I will bake at my mother'in'law's

Ahhh, I don't have to think about this again.

I am sad, though, that football season is drawing to a close. :*(

Menu Plan Monday--AGAIN!

Well, I'll keep it short...I did find the world's best Mac'n Cheese recipe, from Fine Cooking, and have made it twice. Not so hard and so rewarding to make something everyone ooh's over.

But today was Pancakes and Bacon! Costco has a new mix from Krusteze that is whole grain, with flax seeds. They were pretty darn good. Made a big batch and put some in the freezer.

Tuesday: I'm thinking Baked Potato Soup with Salad.

Wednesday: It is pizza night at Awana this week, so we'll be eating there! Yea.

Thursday: Salmon Patties and french fries

Friday: Chicken Parmigiana or Fettucini Alfredo from Pioneer Woman. Depends on whether I can find chicken in the freezer or not.

Gotta go watch the weather now, but at least I have a basic menu plan down for the week. What about you??

Menu Plan Monday--AGAIN!

In trying to upgrade my organization level this year, I am trying to stay on the wagon with Menu Plan Monday at the very helpful blog I'm An Organizing Junkie. She has product reviews, challenges, giveaways, ideas and encouragement. And I pretty much need all of it. Her links are pretty great as well.

I used a menu for the last two weeks and both of them were very modest--just little scraps of paper with two-word titles of recipes. But it made a big difference, no only in my stress level, but my demeanor throughout each day. Since I wasn't stressing about feeding my family at the end of each day, I had more energy to take on the big things, like chicken bathing and 47 doggie trips outside and shoveling horse manure!

Here's my plan for this week--gratefully, mostly stolen from OrgJunkie and her links:

Today, Monday: Pasta Fagioli soup with breadsticks--this is a very good Olive Garden knock-off recipe, pretty simple, great results.

Tuesday: Crock Pot Thai Chicken Never tried it, but it sounds good and my mom left me a bunch of frozen chicken legs when she left for FL last week.

Wednesday: Beef and Vegetable Noodle Bowl This is a link from Orgjunkie's Family Favorites list. Pasta makes the world go 'round, doesn't it? It helps a lot here. And I love the yellow box Barilla pasta, although my friend DF can't use it due to nut allergies, so beware.

Thursday: Mexican Lasagna My recipe came from the Saving Dinner cookbook by Leanne, at FlyLady. I do add some add'l stuff, like hominy or corn, if I have those. This makes a FULL lasagna, so be prepared for leftovers. There are a zillion variations, so you can make it however your family likes it. Just google Mexican Lasagna if you've never made one before...

Friday: Crockpot 40 Clove Garlic Chicken Once again, taken from Orgjunkie's family faves list. Worth a try--can't be worse than fish sticks and tater tots. And I got a new super dooper crockpot for Christmas! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Do yourself a favor, and put something down on paper, just a teeny step forward on the organizing path, and let me know how it works for you!

I had a wonderful weekend scrapbooking and being away from the grind for 48+ hours. Being away for even a little while always perks me up to dive back into the fray. I was sad to see Kurt Warner and the Cards go down in such an ugly way, but New Orleans is a worthy opponent to lose to. Won't surprise me if Kurt retires now.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Colts get their revenge on the Jets--who are only in it because they got a big fat gift on a silver platter, from the Colts!! Guess what?? We're taking it back! :)

I can't believe I ate this...

My mother, the health nut, the woman who started buying raw milk out the back door of a dairy back in 1979; the woman who started a cheese co-op for her friends and had cheese delivered in a semi; the one who planted a garden that was larger than the footprint of her house; the one who made her own tooth powder in the '70's and has never lived it down; that same woman made supper for us the other day--and thank heavens! because we were getting hay...

ANYWAY!--she showed up at my house with a bowl of her amazing potato salad and a big ole pile of chicken legs. Next thing I know, after we returned the hay elevator to its rightful home and I drove across the county to pick up #1 and a neighbor at the living history museum; and then I picked up #2 at a friend's house and then we ran out of gas right before a major intersection and the friend's mom brought us gas and it didn't help and she then drove us home; and I took the neighbor boy home (and saw a Percheron being ridden down the road); the house smelled so good and there was a glorious pile of golden, crispy chicken legs on the table.

We proceeded to reduce the pile at a rapid rate with everyone commenting on the yumminess and crunchiness and how great these were AND they were done in the oven, Wow! They had parmesan cheese in the crust, I knew, because she had used all of mine. But the mystery ingredient...the mystery ingredient from Mrs. Healthfood-Before-Healthfood-Was-Cool...are you ready for this???

Crushed pork rinds.

'nuff said.

P.S. If anyone's interested I'll post the recipe--I'm sure we'll be having it again--although I have never bought pork rinds before, honest.

This recipe can be found in "Back to Protein". The Low Carb, No Carb, Meat Cookbook by Barbara Doyen.

Oven Fried Chicken w/variations

Trace or no carbs 4 or 5 servings

Seasoned Pork Rind Coating (see below)
1/2 cup melted butter (or olive oil) I have used Smart Balance and all was well
1 large chicken, cut up, Or two smaller chickens, with our without skin (I use all legs or strips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg or a convention oven to 325 deg.
2. (See below) Mix together the pork rinds, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Place in a small pie pan.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave for 30-40 seconds on high. Pour into another small pie pan.

4. Coat a rack in a baking pan or a foil-lined baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Or use a broiling pan, coated with vegetable oil spray.

5. Dip the chicken pieces in the butter, then in the pork rind mixture, and place the coated pieces on the rack or baking pan.

6. Leave the pan uncovered and bake for 75-90 minutes or convection bake for 60-75 minutes, or until well-done and serve.

OPTIONS:

Variation #1 If you want more spiciness use the barbecue variety
1 cup ground pork rinds (I just open the 5oz bag, hold closed loosely and smash with my fist or soup can or rolling pin)
1/3 grated Parmesan or Romano cheese or a combination of both
1 tablespoon parsley
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper

Variation #2
Follow above recipe, except make the pork rind mixture as follows:
1 cup ground pork rind
1 teaspoon summer savory OR substitute 1 tsp garlic powder OR 1 tsp paprika for the summer savory
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Sooooooooooeeeeeey!

Menu Plan Monday

Yeah, yeah, I'm at it again; hoping for better luck since MIL got 8-10 stones taken out of her common bile duct, even though they removed her gall bladder SIX YEARS AGO! So, now that the 4H Fair, Ryan's wedding and MIL's common bile duct are all taken care of and over with, I might be able to get my life on track again...

Before we left for the wedding-to-end-all-weddings (as my mother thought of it), I spent several Ulysses S. Grants at Costco on all sorts of good stuff, so I should be able to put it together. Handyman is gone tonight and I am just starting to feel the Ford logo leaving my behind; so tonight it's Personal Pizzas from Costco in the oven-o!

Tuesday: That old summer standby: Tuna Macaroni Salad with Ritz and Triscuits. Have I mentioned that my family, particularly Handyman and I are addicted to Triscuits, in all their glorious flavors? It is pretty common for me to spend $10+ on Triscuits at a time--this is when I can get them on sale. We particularly like SHARP cheddar cheese on Cracked Black Pepper Triscuits, or Fire-roasted Tomato Triscuits or Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits. #3 likes the Roasted Garlic. But I digress...

Wednesday: I'm guessing #2 and #1 will not eat Tuesday's supper, so I'll fix Salmon Patties and french Fries for Wednesday. They are quick, and I find it strange, but all my kids like them. I will throw in a product endorsement for Kirkland (Costco again!)brand Balsamic Vinegar. It is very superior to anything I've bought at the grocery. Of course, it comes in a vat (not really), so there's enough to feed a large Italian family for a decade.

Thursday: #1 will be at her 1836 interpretive post all day, so that means FAMISHED. I think I'll whip up one of her faves, Mexican Lasagna from Saving Dinner. I do add some stuff to it, like hominy. But now that #2 has decided that red spaghetti sauce is not poisonous, maybe she'll try it.

Friday: I'm going for something on the grill here. Handyman should be home, so think picnic food...

I picked several cherry tomatoes and one smallish tomato (THE FIRST ONE!) today! Hallelujah! I sliced it and had it on a bagel with bacon bits and Aunt Jane's Crazy Salt! Summer has officially begun! I wanted to take a picture of it to post, but I shot so many pictures at the wedding that my camera batteries gave up the ghost. I gotta get some batteries and upload to (sorry) Costco for printing.

My friend/housesitter's kids somehow missed the zucchini the size of a Prius in the garden. My kids were lauging because I like bigger zucchini--not those pansies they sell at the grocery. I slice them and fry them and I want them to be fairly sizeable, so I always say, "Let's leave it one more day." And by the next day, it requires a 4WD to haul it out of the garden.

Menu Plan Monday

I am trying something new--goodness knows, if I write it down, it tends to happen; so I'm making a plan for this week...

Monday: This will be EEEEEEEEEK! fast food of some sort because we will be at the dog agility show until who-knows-when tonight. The kids will love it--I'll be burping...

Tuesday: Fuss Free Ravioli and Cheese Bake that I got from The Organizing Junkie website. Doesn't look like it could be any easier, unless it came with a maitre'd. We'll have garlic bread, of course, and a salad.

Wednesday: 5 Minute Southwest Layered Salad, also from Organizing Junkie's list, served with guacamole.

Thursday: This is also a dog-show night for us, so I'm doing a homemade quiche and Spinach Salad, so we can eat early and head for the fairgrounds.

Friday: Broiled Tilapia with a parmesan/butter/mayo topping and fettucine. This is an old recipe that was intended for walleye. The recipe makes more than enough for fish fillets so awhile back, I spread the extra on pasta, and yum! A rare, successful culinary experiment. I'll probably be able to whip up a rhubarb pie tonight as well.

I also want to improve on our breakfasts, and our lunches for that matter, since my children do not eat sandwiches, other than peanut butter. But, that will be another day. I've had a horse with a teeny bit of colic this morning and been to the fairgrounds to set up the dog agility rings for tonight. I have grocery shopping to do and a shower to take.

Wish me luck! Need more coffee...